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Water kefir grains create a carbonated lacto-fermented beverage from sugar water, fruit juice, or coconut water. Incredibly easy to use, the starter culture can create a new batch of water kefir every 24-48 hours. Water kefir makes a fantastic non-dairy alternative to milk kefir and can be flavored to make a range of delicious beverages, or as an ingredient in many recipes. Your family will love it!

Shipping Information: Our water kefir grains are shipped in a dehydrated state in a barrier-sealed packet. The product keeps

At room temperature (68° to 78°F): 12 to 18 months

In the refrigerator (40° to 45°F): 18+ months

In the freezer (0° to 25°F): not recommended

Allergen Information:

Our Water Kefir Grains are a gluten-free product. They are manufactured in a facility that also produces products containing soy and dairy.

Actual product may differ from image shown above.

Why I Love This Product:

Water kefir is one of my favorite cultured foods. Water kefir is particularly easy to make; I generally spend about 5 minutes every 48 hours to make it. Since it's commonly made with sugar and water, it's also a very inexpensive beverage. While there are several types of cultures available for making kefir, I prefer to use water kefir grains because they are resusable and sustainable. As long as you care for them (it's simple!) they will continue to make batch after batch for you. Want to learn more about why I love my water kefir grains? Check out my blog post on the 10 Reasons Water Kefir is One of My Favorite Foods. Julie Feickert, CFH Founder

Questions on Water Kefir Grains

No, do not use any water where the chemical structure has been altered. Use filtered tap water that has no chlorine, chloramine, or fluoride in it. Or, use bottled water such as spring, distilled, or drinking. You can also use well water.

How much sugar is remaining after the fermentation is finished? Can I use Coconut sugar for this and is less sugar remaining the longer it is fermented? Thank you!

The amount of sugar that remains at the end of the fermentation process depends largely on the culturing time and temperature. Higher temperatures (within range) will require less time to ferment but over culturing kefir repeatedly can be very stressful for the grains. The finished kefir should be lightly sweet with a slightly tangy flavor depending on the type of sugar you use. Coconut sugar is not recommended as the primary source of food for the grains. You will find information about sugar here: http://www.culturesforhealth.com/water-kefir-ingredients

How do I store the strained kefir grains in order to share them or re-use them? How long are they active without being re-cultured

Although we do not recommend frequent storage breaks in the fridge, you can store grains in the fridge in the same solution as you would a normal brew: 1 quart water per 1/4 cup cane sugar. Put a lid on top, and it can safely sit in the fridge for up to 3 weeks. If you need longer than that, change the sugar water and again store them for 3 more weeks. No more than 6 weeks though, as they must get back to work.

It's preferable and healthier for the water kefir grains to be cultured continuously, in 24 to 48 hour brews.

Can I use honey and fresh squeezed ginger juice with the water kefir grains? Will fermentation lead to alcohol? How much honey can I use per liter of water (assuming I can use honey)? How long should I ferment in cold weather?

The only time we recommend an additive in with the grains is in the case of treating a yeasty smelling kefir, in which you add a well cleaned/scrubbed (no soap) slice of lemon. An occasional handful of raisins can be beneficial for minerals, but that is it. We do not advise honey in with the grains.

Yes, all fermentation if left long enough will lead to some amount of alcohol, but normally it is a pretty small percentage.

Hi, I just activated my kefir yesterday, and I used gauze with rubber band to cover it, however today I found the top layer of the water had some tiny fibers ,and I believed that came from the gauze....do I need to change the whole water? If I use parchment paper with rubber band to cover it, ist ok? Does kefir need oxygen? How do I know if the kefir is activated? Thank you.

The gauze should work well and rinsing it before use might help remove any stray fibers. Coffee filters also work very well without any lint or fibers. Use a small nylon mesh strainer to remove the fibers or rinse your grains before starting your new batch. We recommend using a loose fitting lid, coffee filter or tea towel for first fermentation to allow the carbon dioxide to escape. Depending on the temperature in your culturing area, your kefir grains will be active in 3 to 5 days and the grains will begin processing the sugar. You will know the grains are working by the flavor of your finished kefir. It should be slightly sweet with a lightly fermented (tangy, sour) flavor.

Customer Reviews

My experience with the milk kefir didn't work out like I had hoped. Just not enough time to pay attention. I cultured water kefir at the same time and had quite a different result. My first batch I split between ginger/lemon and root beer. I am a fan for life. This was so easy and the results were so much more than I had hoped for. The root-beer took me back to a time gone by that I had all but forgotten about. The taste is unbelievable. I'll never buy store bought again.

It took a little while to get started, but now our water kefir is amazing and active. The water you use and the minerals available make a difference. Not every's one water supply is the same, so we had to experiment a bit with tap vs. spring water, adding pinch of baking soda and boiled egg shell, etc...

Now that we have a good routine, we are trying new flavorings with fresh and dried fruit. I have brown glass swing-top bottles from brewing beer and these are great for 2nd ferments.

The instructions were easy to understand and I found many tips online at CFH. Now just waiting on the 30 days to try our 1st kombucha!

Super fast shipping. They woke up super fast too! Thank you so much......i had cried for 2 days when my husband accidentally threw my heirloom grains away :( So i was thrilled to get them back from CFH! Thank you so much!! We are living well again :)

Very clear and easy to follow instructions. Water kefir grains plumped up nicely. Using spring water and a drop of the ConcenTrace Minerals along with organic evaporated cane sugar. Kefir tastes great, but is flat on both 1st and 2nd ferment. Wish I could get some fizz. Any help would be appreciated.

Response from CFH: Please contact us via Live Chat or email and we'd be happy to help!

I desperately needed a way to get off coke, voila the answer is water kefir. I am making a half gallon every 2 days :) It saves LOTS of money :) I do need to figure out how to make the variations. So far am drinking it plain or mixed with juice.

I got my grains a few weeks ago and have already made about 5 batches of water kefir. My grains rehydrated quickly and although my first batch was a little weak, my last few batches have been bubbly and tangy and fizzy--just perfect. The grains are easy to use and so far mine have stayed in great condition. I'm very happy with this product!

It is easy to make. If the taste is too strong your water like mine may have too many minerals. I had to stop using minerals and turbanodo sugar and molasses. Nothing but while sugar. Mine now has the faint taste of rootbeer. I have a lot of sassafras trees on the property who knows...this stuff gets better and i feel better everyday, I crave it. It makes it easy to consume liquids. Also customer service is excellent if u need it.

I thought the water kefir carbonated on it on. I have done four batches in two weeks, and no carbonation. This last batch I also added raisins

CFH response ~ There are a lot of factors to carbonated kefir. The raisins during fermenting will certainly help but you also need to provide food (fruit, berries, juice or a little extra sugar) for the second fermentation. Some items added for flavoring create a lot more carbonation than others. Be sure that the culturing temperature is not too cool and the amount of airspace left in the bottle also plays a part. In the colder months, decrease the amount of space left in the bottle but be sure to increase the amount of space in the hot summer months to avoid building too much pressure. The second ferment can be a bit of a science project but please contact Customer Support if further assistance is needed.

I ordered the water kefir grains around the Christmas holiday and was pleasantly surprised to receive them within a few days. I love that they come with instructions on a lovely paper that I can keep in my recipe folder. I followed the directions for rehydrating the grains and have made 3 batches so far. I love it! The water kefir is delicious and the grains are already multiplying.

Doing my 2nd batch and I am bummed I don't have any water kefir to drink! The grains barely made 2 TBL so I fear that's not enough to culture 2 qts. of kefir. The small amt. seems to indicate the grains aren't happy. The temps are betw. 68---74 and the towel keeps any light out. I am doing something wrong. Maybe I tossed them into the sugar water too roughly or didn't do it fast enough...?

I really like the taste of plain water kefir but don't see how I can increase the amount I make with only 2 TBL of rehydrated grains.

CFH Note~ Your temperature is fine, an overabundance of minerals can cause the grains to break into pieces, please contact customer support for assistance, we would be very happy to make recommendations. customersupport@culturesforhealth.com

The grains were easy to rehydrate, and have made me seven batches of kefir so far! I love that they keep growing and I am able to share them or make multiple recipes at a time. So far my favorite has been a strawberry soda using my water kefir and some frozen organic strawberries from the summer in the second fermentation. Delicious!

I have been using my water kefir grains for about a month. My grains haven't been multiplying, but I am still producing very good water kefir. I am enjoying creating different flavors of kefir soda. I think the lemon ginger is one of my favorites.

I have been enjoying my first batch of water kefir, flavored with cranberry juice and apples. I was a little hestitant, but I really like it over ice. I'm looking forward to my second batch, flavored with grapefruit juice.

Attention!

Starter cultures, rennet for cheese making and cultured vegetables, juices and condiments are sensitive to excessive heat. Once your order has shipped, an e-mail with tracking information will be sent to you. We encourage you to use the tracking information to anticipate the arrival of your items so they can be removed from the mail box and stored in the refrigerator promptly.

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